


Brothers

by Lazuliblur



Series: Tobirama character studies [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29614089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazuliblur/pseuds/Lazuliblur
Summary: Brothers are a curse. They are also the best thing ever. (Kid Hashirama and Tobirama ficlet.)
Relationships: Senju Hashirama & Senju Tobirama
Series: Tobirama character studies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2175798
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> Revised and reposted from FFNet. :)  
> All feedback is welcome!

Tobirama Senju was born two weeks early. He was a frail, tiny scrap of a baby, with white wisps of hair and skin so pale that it could have been called transparent.

The first person to see him and hold his feather-weight was the clan's old midwife, who shot the mother a nervous glance. The boy had given three short gasps and fallen silent. She would have advised the mother not to get too attached. The baby was likely too feeble to last the night. Out of respect for the officials present in the room, though, she kept from stating the obvious.

Witnessing the birth were the father, Butsuma, proud leader of the Senju clan, and a handful of his closest advisors, there to be the first to congratulate him for the strength the newborn brought to the clan. They too kept quiet.

At the door, peeked in a wide-eyed three-year-old Hashirama. He was so curious and so caught up in the wonder of having a baby brother that he did not notice the tension among the adults. He was immensely curious to see what this new person that would be a part of his life looked like. He tried to stay out of the way, invisible, but when none of the grown-ups moved or acknowledged him, he gave up the effort and ran to his mother's side.

The white hair, red eyes and almost blue skin were a surprise. Maybe all babies were like that at first. Maybe he had looked the same when he was young, thought Hashirama, before considering that the baby was still the cutest thing he had ever seen. His father and mother had talked to him about how he should take care of his future sibling, but up until now it bad been nothing more than an abstract notion. Faced with reality, the promise to be the best big brother in the world took on a whole new meaning.

Regardless, as the child that he was, Hashirama's joy was all but ignored by the adults — and it was certainly not shared.

"Butsuma... please forgive me..." his mother called out, short of breath.

"At least it's a boy," the stern man replied shortly. "Well done, wife."

After that, the men left the women to take care of the rest of the proceedings, the clean-up and aftercare. The set of their mouths was the furthest thing from celebratory.

Three days later, when it became apparent that the boy would live, Hashirama was happy to learn that his brother's name was Tobirama.

* * *

Being an older brother was not all that Hashirama had expected it to be.

Tobirama learned to walk when he was ten months old for the sole purpose of getting his older brother in trouble – at least, that was what it looked like to Hashirama.

One winter afternoon, as the sun finally showed its face from behind slightly less grey clouds after a week of continuous rain, Hashirama went out to the training field for some shuriken throwing practice. The grounds were covered in mud, but the air was crisp. The rain had washed away all traces of dust. After a week cooped up indoors, it felt like paradise.

The elder of the Senju boys had finished throwing the last of his weapons when he heard something like a wet _splat!_ behind him. He turned around to find little Tobirama sitting in a mud puddle, wearing nothing more than a sleeveless shirt over his pants. The baby was burbling at him and flaying his arms like he wanted to clap his hands but was not quite sure how.

Hashirama panicked when he saw the state his brother was in. He was so dirty that anyone who did not know him might believe him to be as brunet as his older brother. He picked him up and ran all the way home without sparing a thought about how dangerous it was to leave his best shuriken set out, where anyone might take it.

They came across their mother as soon as they stepped foot in the house. The entire settlement could probably hear her demands to know what he was thinking, taking his brother out like that and letting him play in the mud. His father's quiet disapproval was not any better either.

And two days later, when it turned out that Tobirama had picked up a cold, Hashirama spent the whole two weeks he was grounded cursing his parents for ever giving him a baby brother.

* * *

Tobirama's first word was "anija".

Well, actually it was "anya", but for Hashirama it was all the same thing.

Over the months that followed, he would take Tobirama everywhere he went, just so everyone in the clan could see how great his little brother was. And Tobirama, who by now had mastered walking, running and even clapping, was always happy to oblige. He'd tag along with one hand fisted on the loose fabric of Hashirama's pants and call out his big brother's name on demand.

His big brother gave the best hugs. He could not get enough of them.

For his part, Hashirama was enjoying every chance that he got to spend with him. After coming home exhausted and bruised from their father's harsh training sessions or, worse, battles to the death against enemy ninjas, Tobirama's excited " _anya!_ "s were a balm. He could not imagine ever living a life without the best baby brother in the world by his side.


End file.
